WEBSTER – On Thursday, March 16, Jack Caffrey of Dublin, Ireland, joined the continuing education community to share about where he was born and raised. Those in attendance were treated to a walking virtual tour via Zoom of the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade route, ending at the site where St. Patrick is believed to have baptized new believers. During his tour, Caffrey shared a wealth of information about the history of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day.
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was led by Father Ricardo Artur in 1601 in St. Augustine, Florida. New York’s first official parade was in 1762 where they have had a parade ever since. The Dublin Parade in Ireland officially started in 1933. The first parade, though, was in 1903. Dublin, compared to New York has a modest parade. New York has an average of 150,000 participants with 2 million in-person onlookers. Comparably, Dublin’s is about 1/30th the size, with Chicago coming in second to New York, then Boston coming in third. Every year since 1962, the people of Chicago have also dyed their river green using about 40 gallons of dye, which lasts several days.
O’Connell Street, where the Dublin parade starts, is named after Daniel O’Connell, who was also called “the Liberator,” and seen as one of the greatest men in Irish history. Located on the street is a huge monument to him. It had been illegal at one time to educate Irish children, and some children would be educated in secret, while others would be able to work around the laws through wealth. He was also against antisemitism, friends with the abolitionist Douglas Frederickson, and active in many social and political efforts, with many winning moments for the people of Ireland. The last street on the route is Dame St., which is not named after anyone in particular. It was originally Damme St., but a “m” was dropped after some felt is sounded like a swear word.
Some other interesting St. Patrick’s Day history includes that of a conservative judge named James “Jim” Comerford. He was in the habit of banning individuals from attending the parade if they were seen as an undesirable character, which included the likes of a famous writer with a drinking problem, and presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, among others. In 1970 McDonald’s produced the first shamrock milkshake. In 1989 the first female grand marshal was introduced. In 1994 President Bill Clinton called the IRA to lay down their arms, which eventually happened in 1999. On St. Patrick’s Day in 1875 there were riots in Toronto, and an indulgence was offered by the church for those going between one church to another, but those marching were attacked, and it wasn’t resolved until there was police intervention.
St. Patrick’s birth name was Maewyn but he took the name Patrick later as a religious servant. In 396 he was abducted by Irish pirates and sold into slavery, where he tended cattle and other duties, escaping at age 22. After that he felt a religious calling, then went to France to study, going to Britain after he graduated. He had a dream of a man in a state of starvation asking him to return to Ireland, and he returned to the country where he evangelized the country until he died. From his own autobiography, St. Patrick mentions having a speech impediment and a lack of education, but cited that God moves in mysterious ways to perform his will.
You can check out more of the continuing education classes available in Siren, Webster and all round Burnett County at cueclass.com/.
